Lorenzo voices frustration after finishing 7th-fastest on final day of testing
The biggest threat on the track this evening for Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies was not other riders but fiercely strong winds blowing across the Losail Circuit in Qatar. The final pre-season MotoGP Test session before next weekend’s opening race was a battle against the elements.
Reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo struggled to make a significant step forward from yesterday’s session, hampered by the winds the Mallorcan was unable to find the best set up for the conditions. He finished the session with an extended run to check on fuel consumption, ending the final Test of the winter off-season in seventh position on the timesheet.
Jorge Lorenzo, 7th, 1’56.707:
“Today wasn’t the best day for me. It was not because my riding is bad, I always admit when it is, we struggled with the set up of the bike during the session and unfortunately we didn’t make a step forward. The wind was tough but that was a problem for everyone. We also tried a different swing arm today but it didn’t make an improvement. We will work over the next few days to be ready to improve in the next sessions on Thursday.”
Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager:
“Today was a very windy day in Qatar, compared to yesterday we struggled a little bit with the feeling and the balance of the bike because of it. We made a long run at the end even though we hadn’t found a perfect feeling to see what our fuel consumption was and also gather some more electronic information. The bike set up wasn’t perfect for it but it was necessary to do.”
Source: Yamaha Racing